PU women go four for (Final) Four

Tigers’ balance keys quarterfinal win over Ohio State

By: Justin Feil
   Asked how to explain the success of the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team following their NCAA quarterfinals win over Ohio State on Sunday, Whitney Miller, Rachael Becker and Lindsey Biles answered, fittingly, together.
   "I think we’re really well balanced," said Miller, one of seven Princeton players to score in the 17-8 win.
   "Yeah," said Ivy League Player of the Year Becker almost in unison, "there are contributions from everyone."
   "Everyone makes such huge contributions every game," quickly added Biles, who had four goals, second only to Theresa Sherry’s five for the Tigers.
   Ohio State, upset winners over Duke in the first round Thursday, came out strong to take a 5-4 lead less than 14 minutes into the battle of two teams who had never faced each other before. But it was Princeton that responded with relentless pressure to take over the game.
   The Tigers scored the next three goals and added two more in the final minute for a 9-6 half-time lead. In the second half, the Tigers stretched their streak to eight-straight goals scored, dominated with an 8-3 draw control advantage and held a 15-8 shooting edge. In the end, there were just too many weapons for the Buckeyes, who ended their season 13-3 while Princeton, which crushed Le Moyne, 19-1, Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, improved to 14-4.
   "It’s great to see, especially because we did graduate some of our top attackers last year and now this year they’re saying the same things about us that they said last year," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "That’s a real tribute to these kids. We were looking for kids to step up and take on more responsibility in a bigger role on the field. They’ve done that across the board. We’re getting great contributions from so many people."
   The Tigers will look for continued well-balanced contributions after earning a rematch with Loyola, the NCAA tournament No. 1 seed, Friday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. Princeton lost, 9-8, in double overtime to the Greyhounds.
   "I think it’s a great opportunity to play Loyola again," said Becker, who had two assists Sunday. "They were our second game and we lost in double overtime. It’s a great opportunity to see them again. We know they’re going to be a really tough opponent, but I’m definitely excited."
   A different result Friday will allow the Tigers to continue pursuit of their second straight NCAA title Sunday against the winner of Virginia and Maryland at the Carrier Dome.
   "The Loyola game wasn’t a bad game for us," Sailer said. "We out-statisticed them in just about everything but goals. We really had a bad shooting day. I think we’re much better shooters now than we were early in the year. We’re much more poised around the cage. We know — we don’t necessarily wonder — if we can do it. We know if we play well, we can get it done. That gives us confidence."
   This Princeton team has come a long way this season to reach its fourth straight Final Four, an unmatched feat.
   "I think they’re the only seniors in the country that can claim four years in a row in the Final Four," Sailer said. "I think that’s a tremendous achievement. We’re looking forward to the tournament."
   The tournament was the farthest thing from the Tigers’ sights March 19. Then, the Tigers were 1-3 after losing to Loyola, Virginia and Duke in succession after an opening-day win. Since then, Princeton has gone 13-1, with its one hiccup being a loss to Yale, while finding the balance that has made it successful.
   "I think that was a real challenge for us, having graduated so many marquis players last year," Sailer said. "Being down early, finding who we were as a team and having that knowledge deep inside that we are good, and we can do this together (was important). We might not have (Lauren) Simone and Brooke (Owens, graduated All-Americas) and we can go down the line, but we are great players in our own right. If we come together and play all together, we can accomplish tremendous things together."
   It looked like that was going to be a much harder task than it turned out with the way Ohio State opened the game. Ashley Evans back-to-back goals gave the Buckeyes their final lead of the game with 13:44 gone in the first.
   "They really challenged us early," Sailer said. "They came out really hard and were taking the game to us. We didn’t let ourselves get rattled. In the end, I think we were really composed. I know what we wanted from this game, and we came through. I thought across the board, we played fantastically.
   "Our defense, once we figured out what they were doing, adjusted very well. And our attack just took total control in the second half. We didn’t have the ball as much as we wanted in the first half. We were able to start winning draws and making good defensive plays to give us the ball in the second half."
   In the end, it was Princeton’s experience and veteran leadership that showed in the win over the Buckeyes, who were making just their second NCAA tournament appearance ever, and first NCAA quarterfinal appearance. The Tigers are shooting for their third NCAA finals appearance in four years.
   "This is really special," Miller said. "We’ve been working hard all season to get back to the Final Four. We just have great teamwork and we displayed it on the field really well. We had a lot of tenacity, a lot of hustle, a lot of heart."
   And plenty of contributions from everyone on the team, which is exactly why the Princeton women’s lacrosse team is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament.